Jay Watson

"I am Jay (They/He) a trans, queer poet & writer who enjoys exploring the self and the body in comparison with the world through short form poetry.

I have written poetry as part of my recovery from mental health issues for the last 2 years and performed at Shxts and Scribbles poetry night.

As a trans person writing has helped me to explore my identity and deconstruct the structures I feel I used to be bound by."

The body feels  

The Waves of the beats 

The beats of the waves

Punching through your chest

Pulling you under.

Overcome by darkness

You feel nothing but your body,

Sensations amplified – 

As if sealed in a vacuum bag

No longer an entity of your own 

An object at the mercy 

Of the plastic bag pulled tight against your skin

Of the ocean that immerses you. 

You feel your pulse in your head 

Moving down through your neck, your wrists

Between your legs. 

The plastic, the ocean 

Pressing against you. 

You float, suspended in an aroused state

Time and space don’t exist. 

Another wave crashes 

Bursting the plasting seal. 

You enjoy the sea gushing into you, 

Filling your mouth, choking you. 

The sea spits you out onto the shore,

Your body bruising against the stones. 

You lie exhausted, raw and alive.